CVE-2026-68286: drop_monitor: perform u64_stats updates under IRQ-disabled section

Severity: unknown
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-08-10 · updated 2026-10-03

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drop_monitor: perform u64_stats updates under IRQ-disabled section In net_dm_packet_trace_kfree_skb_hit() and net_dm_hw_trap_packet_probe(), u64_stats_update_begin() / u64_stats_inc() / u64_stats_update_end() were called after spin_unlock_irqrestore(&...drop_queue.lock, flags), when local IRQs had already been re-enabled. Tracepoint probes can execute in IRQ or softirq context. On 32-bit architectures, u64_stats_update_begin() disables preemption but not interrupts, relying on seqcount writes. If a nested interrupt occurs on the same CPU during the 64-bit stats update, the reentrant seqcount update can corrupt the seqcount state or stats value. Fix this by performing the 64-bit per-CPU stats update before releasing drop_queue.lock via spin_unlock_irqrestore(), ensuring local interrupts remain disabled during the u64_stats update.

Affected products

Linux kernel: 5.4 — fixed in 7.2

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 7.2. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

Get alerted when CVE-2026-68286 or the next vulnerability affects your stack